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Carolina (English) No 378
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STUDENTS' E-MAIL NEWS FROM THE CZECH REPUBLIC
Charles University in Prague
Faculty of Social Sciences
Smetanovo nabr. 6
110 01 Prague 1
Czech Republic
e-mail: CAROLINA@mbox.fsv.cuni.cz ISSN 121-5040
tel: (+4202) 22112252, fax: (+4202) 22112219
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
C A R O L I N A No 378, Friday, June 2, 2000.
FROM THE EVENTS OF THE PAST WEEK (May 24 - May 31)
ODS and CSSD Pass Electoral Act Amendments, Citizens Abroad to Vote
Radical changes in the Electoral Act were pushed through May 26 by
all the deputies of the Civic Democratic Party (ODS) and almost all the
Social Democrat (CSSD) deputies, a total of 117 deputies in the
200-seat chamber. Six Social Democrat deputies, along with opposition
deputies from the Freedom Union (US) and the Christian Democrats
(KDU-CSL) were against the proposed changes. Opposition parties say the
changes are designed to weaken their position. The Communists left the
hall in protest.
According to the changes, elections in 2002 would be held in 35
smaller districts instead of today's eight, the calculation of seats
would be done using d'Hondt's method, it would be possible to vote at
all embassies and consular offices abroad, elections would be held on
one day (Sunday, whereas today they take place Saturday and Sunday), the
campaign would continue until just before the elections. The deputies
also passed the proposal - secretly prepared by ODS and CSSD deputies
- that raises the minimum percentage of votes necessary for getting
seats in the legislature for four-party coalitions to 20 per cent, for
three-party coalitions to 15 per cent and for two-party coalitions to
10 per cent. No change was made to the five-per-cent limit for a single
party.
The number of election districts and the d'Hondt calculation method
could lead to a disproportion in the percentage of votes garnered and
the number of mandates in the chamber. A party that receives 30 per cent
of the vote could control a majority of the legislature. ODS does not
deny that the changes favor large parties and is intended to limit the
number of parties necessary to create a majority government. Freedom
Union Chairman Karel Kuhnl said the Four-Party Coalition (US, KDU-CSL,
the Civic Democratic Alliance and the Democratic Union) will be well
prepared for the election. Representatives of the Four-Party Coalition
and President Vaclav Havel say the changes do not adhere to the
proportional system laid down in the Constitution and reduce the value
of the Senate.
The amendments must now make their way through the Senate, where
ODS and CSSD have a majority. The president might veto the law, but the
Chamber of Deputies can override him.
Jan Skala/Ondrej Maly
Czechs to Observe Holidays January 1, September 28 and November 17
Two more paid holidays were added to the Czech calendar. Deputies
May 26 approved calling January 1 (already a paid holiday) Renewal of
the Independent Czech State Day. In addition to May 8 (V-E Day), July
5-6 (Slavic Harbingers of Faith Cyril and Methodius Day and Burning of
Master John Huss Day, respectively) and November 28 (Founding of the
independent Czechoslovak State Day), public holidays will be observed
September 28 and November 17.
The student holiday of November 17 (the police attack on students
November 17, 1989 was the beginning of the end of the communist regime)
will be called the The Fight for Freedom and Democracy Day. Deputies
approved this holiday quickly, but debate on St. Wenceslas' Day
September 28 was more controversial. After long debate on the importance
of this patron of the Czech state and nation, whom Prime Minister Milos
Zeman to the repulsion of the majority of deputies called a symbol of
servility and collaboration, deputies approved the holiday as Czech
Statehood Day. Other suggestions for public holidays like the birthday
of Tomas Garrigue Masaryk (founder and first president of
Czechoslovakia), All Saints' Day and the victory of the Czech hockey
team at the Nagano Olympics, were rejected.
Jan Skala/Darina Johanidesova
Estonian President Lennart Meri in the Czech Republic
Estonian President and writer Lennart Meri started his four-day
visit in the Czech Republic May 29. That day he toured Prague and met
members of the Czech PEN club. May 30 he met Czech President Vaclav
Havel, Prime Minister Milos Zeman, Chamber of Deputies Chairman Vaclav
Klaus and Czech businessmen. Talks focused on Estonia joining NATO.
Havel promised Estonia the Czech Republic's support during its
accession. Both presidents said they belive the Baltic state will
officially join NATO at its 2002 summit.
Meri May 31 visited Charles University, where the College of
Humanities (Filosoficka fakulta) is going to establish an Institue of
Ugro-Finnish Languages. Meri then went to Cesky Krumlov in Southern
Bohemia, where he watched training at a UN peacekeeping forces base. He
also met Czech Defense Minister Vladimir Vetchy.
Dita Kristanova/Darina Johanidesova
Deputies Pass Electronic Signature Act
The Chamber of Deputies May 24 passed the Electronic Signature Act,
which makes legally equal a written signature and a signature made with
the aid of a computer. It could simplify contact with public offices,
such as allowing the filing of income-tax returns from home and other
procedures where physical presence had been necessary.
The Chamber of Deputies voted almost unanimously for the proposal,
some deputies abstained. Freedom Union Vice Chairman and one of the
authors of the law Vladimir Mlynar cheered and said a significant
obstacle to electronic commerce had fallen. If the Senate passes the
act, which is probable, it will take effect at the beginning of next
year.
Jakub Trnka/Ondrej Maly
FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Zeman in Greece
Prime Minister Milos Zeman came to Greece May 25 together with
Trade Minister Miroslav Gregr, Agriculture Minister Jan Fencl and
a group of Czech entrepreneurs, among them the managers of the Czech
companies Energoprojekt and Strojexport, to foster Czech-Greek
cooperation in the field of energy and in major investment projects.
Zeman said his meeting with Greek Defense Minister Akis Tsochadzopulos
opened the Czech arm industry the chance to sell its products, among
them the Czech L-159 fighter plane, to the Greek army.
During meetings with top Greek representatives and with Prime
Minister Kostas Simitis, Zeman also discussed EU expansion, partly
because the Greek government is asking that Cyprus join the EU together
with the next wave of new members.
While the Czech delegation returned home May 26, Zeman and his wife
stayed in Greece for the weekend of May 27-28. He left for Crete, where
the new Czech consulate was opened in Herakleiton and where the couple
spent the private part of the visit to Greece. Czech media noted that
Zeman and his wife used the special government plane when returning
home.
Czech Republic Wants to Participate More in NATO Decision-Making
Foreign Minister Jan Kavan, who attended a meeting of the North
Atlantic Council's (NAC) foreign ministers in Florence, Italy May 24,
said the Czech Republic is ready to participate in future EU military
structures, but asks simultaneously for a larger role in NATO's
decision-making process. According to the daily Pravo, the NATO foreign
ministers made EU membership a precondition for greater authority in
NATO. Besides Poland and Hungary, also Turkey, Norway and Iceland are in
the same position as the Czech Republic: they are NATO members but EU
non-members.
New Chapter in EU Membership Talks Opens
Czech negotiators will try to prevent the establishment of
a transitional period for the free movement of Czech workers in the
years to come after the country joins the EU. The critical talks on this
issue - along with agriculture one of the most contentious - opened May
26 in the accession negotiations. Germany and Austria are afraid of the
influx of cheap labor from the East European countries and will try to
prevent uninhibited movement for a limited period. The Czech delegation
considers such a restriction a negation of the basic idea of the
European Union as a space without discrimination or geographical
segregation, and will request no such period or accept it in exchange
for a temporary ban on EU citizens buying land and real estates in the
Czech Republic.
Visa Necessary for Russia and Belarus
Czechs have needed visas to enter Russia and Belarus since May 29,
because the Czech Republic cancelled visa-free travel for these nations'
citizens in February. The results have been long queues at embassies in
Prague as well as in Moscow, some Russian travel agencies have even
removed the Czech Republic as a destination for their clients. According
to the Czech Foreign Ministry, introducing the visa requirement was
necessary for harmonization with EU regulations.
Foreign news prepared by Marek Uhlir/Daniela Vrbova, Milan Smid
FROM SLOVAKIA
U.S. Steel to Gain Control of East Slovak Ironworks (VSZ)
The May 25 general meeting of the East Slovak Ironworks
(Vychodoslovenske zelezarnie, VSZ) May 25 approved U.S. Steel taking
over the production operations of the company. The Slovak government had
already approved the plan.
The transaction should now be completed such that its structure can
be presented for VSZ shareholder approval at an extraordinary general
meeting at the end of June. The production operations of VSZ should be
transferred to a new company, wholly owned by the Americans, while the
standing VSZ shareholders will have a right to a percentage of the new
company's future profits. U.S. Steel promised not to fire any employees
for a number of years and to invest about 700 million USD into
modernizing production. Shareholders May 25 also approved VSZ's 1999
losses of 6.17 billion crowns. The compmany lost 11 billion crowns in
1998, but in the first quarter of 2000 shows a profit of about 1.2
billion crowns. The company, by far the largest in Eastern Slovakia, was
often cited as a case of corrupt and failed privatization under former
Premier Vladimir Meciar.
Michael Bluhm/Michael Bluhm
ECONOMY
Chamber of Deputies Passes Amendments to Commercial Code
The Chamber of Deputies May 30 passed the government's proposed
amendments to the Commercial Code. These changes - the 12th to the code
since its inception - are the first to harmonize the code with the
legislation of the EU, the government said. Their aim was to strengthen
the position of minority shareholders, to improve the status of
creditors and to protect shareholders in corporations and cooperatives
from potential misuse of management positions. Another change is the
raising of the minimum requirements for basic capital for founding
companies and corporations. The minimums were doubled and there is also
a change in the calling of general meetings. Another change is the limit
to the number of companies any one person can own entirely.
The amendments did not avoid criticism. Most Civic Democratic Party
(ODS) and Freedom Union (US) deputies voted against the amendments.
Freedom Union deputy Ivan Pilip said the harmonizing effect of the
amendments with EU Legislation is being overstated and he said he is
worried about possible complications and increased costs for
businessmen. The author of the amendment, Justice Minister and the only
non-partisan member of the minority Social Democrat government Otakar
Motejl, has not resigned, despite his warnings that if the amendments
were rejected, he would leave office.
Jakub Trnka/Daniela Vrbova
Rates at the Czech National Bank (valid June 2)
--------------------------------------------------------------
1 EUR = 36.100
country currency CZK
------------------------------------------
Australia 1 AUD 22.139
Great Britain 1 GBP 57.784
Denmark 1 DKK 4.837
Japan 100 JPY 35.514
Canada 1 CAD 25.846
IMF 1 XDR 51.023
Hungary 100 HUF 13.916
Norway 1 NOK 4.343
New Zealand 1 NZD 17.701
Poland 1 PLN 8.825
Greece 100 GRD 10.713
Slovakia 100 SKK 84.230
Slovenia 100 SIT 17.529
Sweden 1 SEK 4.311
Switzerland 1 CHF 22.927
USA 1 USD 38.653
Exchange Rates of countries participating in the euro
(converted from the euro rate)
country currency CZK
-----------------------------------------
Germany 1 DEM 18.458
Belgium 100 BEF 89.490
Finland 1 FIM 6.072
France 1 FRF 5.503
Ireland 1 IEP 45.838
Italy 1000 ITL 18.644
Luxemburg 100 LUF 89.490
Netherlands 1 NLG 16.381
Portugal 100 PTE 18.007
Austria 1 ATS 2.623
Spain 100 ESP 21.697
CULTURE
Children's Movies Bring Film Stars to Zlin
The 40th International Children's and Youth Film Festival in Zlin,
one of the oldest events of this kind in the country, began May 29 with
screenings of films in the competition. Almost 200 feature and animated
films from 33 countries will be screened.
An unusually high number of film stars was attracted to the
children's film event. Italian actress Gina Lollobrigida came as an
ambassador of UNICEF and UNESCO, her younger colleague Ornella Muti was
also present in Zlin. Members of the jury were German actor Horst
Buchholz and Russian writer and screenwriter Sergei Michalkov. The best
reception went to Annie Girardot, who received the lifetime achievement
award at the festival.
The new Czech-German children's movie Hi to the Bear (Hura na
medveda), directed by Czech emigree Dana Vavrova had its world premiere
in Zlin.
Loos Museum Opens in Prague
The Loos or Muller Villa, a masterpiece of functionalist
architecture from the 20's, was opened to the public May 25. The family
residence of Prague enterpreneur Frantisek Muller was designed by the
famed architect Adolf Loos (born in Brno) together with Karel Lhota in
1928-1930. In renovating the building, restorers used the original
furniture, paintings and wallpaper from the 20's and 30's. The austere
functionalist features of the villa were a reaction to the decorative
abundance of the Art Deco period at the turn of the century. The villa
will serve as the Loos Museum and a research center.
CULTURE IN BRIEF
* After 14 years of renovation, the famous Star (Hvezda) summer
chateau on White Mountain (Bila hora) in Prague is open to the public
again. The chateau, built in the 16th century and surrounded by
a mammoth park, is famous not only as a remarkable monument of
Renaissance architecture in Prague, but also as a historical monument.
The Battle of White Mountain was where the Czech nobles were defeated by
the Hapsburgs in 1620, perhaps the turning point in the Thirty Years War
and a defeat that led to the near-extinction of the Czech aristocracy.
Culture prepared by Michal Pospisil, Michal Skala/Milan Smid
SPORTS
Young Czech Soccer Players Advance to Olympics
The Czech Republic's under-21 soccer players advanced to the
Olympic Games in Sydney after the European Under-21 Championships in
Slovakia. They had a difficult position in their championship group, but
after a 1-1 tie with Spain and 3-1 and 4-3 wins over the Netherlands and
Croatia respectively, they finished first in their group and will play
in the tournament's final against Italy June 3. The top two teams from
both groups will participate in the Olympics.
In the first game, the Czech players, led by coach Karel Bruckner,
met Spain May 27. They repaid the many Czech fans who came to Slovakia
to support them with Lukas Dosek's goal in 55th minute. The Czechs
continued applying pressure, but allowed one goal in added time.
The game against the Netherlands May 29 was different. The Dutch
led from the 18th minute, but Marek Jankulovski tied on a penalty kick.
The referee then helped the Czechs by sending off Ellery Cairo. The
Czechs' David Jarolim scored and, despite a red card for Jankulovski,
Jarolim closed the scoring with his second goal.
After our deadline, the Czechs met Croatia June 1 and the players
went hard again after the win, even though a tie would have ensured
a berth in the Olympics. Croatia led almost all the first half, but
after the break a storm of goals finished with the Czech Republic ahead.
Results: Czech Republic - Spain 1-1, Czech Republic - Netherlands
3-1, Czech Republic - Croatia 4-3.
SPORTS IN BRIEF
* Ice hockey players Martin Prochazka and Pavel Patera, Olympic and
three-time world champions, each signed two-year contracts with
Vitkovice. The players, both leaving Vsetin, could have played for
Sparta, Litvinov or Trinec, but they chose Vitkovice, which barely
avoided relegation to the second league this season, because of better
negotiations. Prochazka said he wants to fulfill his contract, while
Patera, who has a contract with the NHL's Dallas Stars, might still try
his luck in the NHL.
* Martin Doktor won the flat-water canoeing World Cup after races in
Szeged, Hungary. In the penultimate race of the circuit, Doktor finished
second and twice third despite a strong wind.
* USK Praha won the Czech basketball league title. They decided the
best-of-seven final series in the seventh game, winning in Opava 85-79.
It was their first title in eight years and also the longest final
series in Czech basketball history.
Sports Section by Dita Kristanova/Mirek Langer
WEATHER
Some jokers said repeated waves of cold air and rain came to us
last week from the West because warm weather from the East now needs
a visa. On the one hand, the temperatures of 15-22 degrees
Celsius/59-72 degrees Fahrenheit are average for this period of the
year, while on the other hand someone could have considered last week
a cold one, after the heat waves experienced at the beginning of May.
Dita Kristanova/Zuzana Janeckova
English version edited by Michael Bluhm.
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